Waiting Between Worlds
by Without Warrant
Summary: There were two rules that he upheld to: no one could know what he was, and if someone discovered his true identity, he cut all ties and disappeared. It was that simple. Or it had been, until he met Sasuke Uchiha. [AU, NaruSasuNaru, SasuSaku.]
1. Prologue

**Waiting Between Worlds**  
_By Without Warrant_

Can you hear it?  
The soft beats, the low thrum.

Can't you hear it?  
Hold out your hand, press it close.

_Listen._

* * *

I could hear his screams.

They were sharp and clear, each one echoing over me, around me, and through me all at once. The brief pauses of silence gave way to more heart wrenching cries, and I had to keep reminding myself silently, in mantra, _keep going, keep going, don't stop._

"Naruto!"

His voice was far away yet close. Terrifylingly close. It tuned in and out like a bad radio station, as if my head was fumbling between static, trying to get a clear signal and failing. It made me nauseous - an _I'm-going-to-vomit _sick to my stomach nauseous. His voice cluttered every inch inside my head, pinging around like a drunken pinball, never-ending with no clear sign of whether I was winning or losing. But this wasn't a game.

This was life or death.

"S-stop! _Please_." Harsh panting hung in the air, dizzylingly nearby. I pushed myself harder, heart pounding unforgivingly in my chest. It was hard ignoring the urge to turn and look back at him; it was hard ignoring the want to stop running away from him, and _to_ him. Hard but doable. Trying to run away from Sasuke was like trying to outrun an addiction: nearly impossible, but a possibility. The itching need to be near him was unrelenting, even through the fear.

"I can explain!"

Birds scattered as if a gun had been fired, billowing out of drooping pine boughs, leaving shaking limbs and thistles in their wake. Distantly I thought I might have heard other animals spook - perhaps a deer herd - but I wasn't sure. My radio-esque ears were fucked in their pickup, just like everything else in my body. My sight. My scent.

My sense of awareness.

I didn't realize until moments later that I couldn't hear him anymore, but I didn't trust my judgement enough to stop. _What if I was blacking out again?_ Or perhaps, maybe, I was about to wake up and this would be nothing but another dream-turned nightmare, and I'd be in my studio apartment with the smell of cheap-o ramen hugging the air like sea salt. The water faucet in the bathroom would be dripping away, annoying me drip by drip until I gave up on trying to fall back asleep, got up cursing, and readied myself for work. _God what I'd give for that._

I blinked my eyes hopefully.

_Nothing._

I pinched myself - and winced when pain sprouted along my arm.

_Nothing._

Even as the teasing taste of silence began to flood the forest around me, I wasn't alluded into thinking it was over. I'd imagined and been hoping for this moment the last ten minutes - or had it been twenty? I didn't know anymore - but I knew just how quickly that could change. How quickly_ I_ could change. It'd be as simple and fast as daring a cliff dive: one moment on the edge, the next, plunging deep into the dark depths of the frigid winter waters.

The deer herd I thought I'd heard before was close by again. Distantly, the click-clacking of hooves scraping against rocky grounds distracted me, but only for a few seconds. I barely noticed anything else that was going on around me, too caught up in the here-and-now of where I was going, why, and how much longer...

_How much longer I'd be able to take this._

My feet hurt, and each second spent pounding them barefoot against the forest floor sent slivers of pain up my soles and legs. Loose brushwood and unkempt trails had jabbed slivers into my skin, and in the darkness I only noticed the rocks after they'd scraped me. The rush of my heartbeat was the only consolation I had at this point. The beating kept me sane, made me feel more human.

Made me sure I was still alive.

Thump _thump_. Thump_ thump._

A twig snapped.

Thump _thump_. Thump _thump._

Harsh pants filled the night air - but were they mine, or his? The rush of my heartbeat managed to drown out most of my paranoia and wonder, but some of my thoughts persisted, eating away through the heavy weight of fear and anxiety clouding me: was I imagining everything? Had I finally crossed over the deep end? - or was it all true and what I'd just witnessed - something unbelieve, incredible, and completely terrifying - _real_?

Was I nothing but a monster?

A sound so clear, nearly tangible with its emotion that I could almost feel the pain and agony it felt, cut through me. The howl split through my thoughts and heart in a perfect dive, effectively shutting my brain down and injecting me with adrenaline and fear straight into my veins. It was a paralyzing poison, starting deep inside, biting and nipping at both my heart and soul until they bled.

_Keep going. Keep going. Don't stop._

The pain in my feet was nothing to me anymore. I could distantly feel warm blood forming in splotches along my toes. The stitch along my side from having run too long and too hard barely registered, even as breathing got harder.

It was the pain in my heart that'd overtaken everything.

After all, the monster following me was nothing compared to the monster it was chasing.

* * *

End Prologue. Chapter 1 coming tomorrow.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed the teaser. I wanted to give a taste to the public before chapter 1. **Please read below.**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto - him and all of his lovely companions belong to Kishimoto. The only thing I do own is this storyline and plot. Do not steal.

**Rating:** NC-17+. This story is not for children. If you don't enjoy adult-content material such as offensive language, sexual content and violence, please move on. There will be a lot of darkly-themed undertones and situations that occur as well.

**Pairings:** NaruSasuNaru [interchanging 'dominance'], SasuSaku, and many others.

Read & Review, keeps me going.


	2. Ch 1: The Beginning

**Please Notice:** I was going to update this as scheduled, but the website kept giving me this error 'Error Type 1' whenever I was trying to go to the Manage Stories section... it finally just cleared. Sorry all!

* * *

**Waiting Between Worlds  
**_By Without Warrant_

Chapter 1: The Beginning

Do you feel the lightning in your heart?  
Do you hear the thunder in your _soul_?

* * *

_11 Years Ago  
__Kyoto, Japan_

A mother's instinct was better than anyone else's. Whether you were a trained spy, a cop, a hunter, or even a top-grade detective, a mother simply caught onto things before others. It was ingrained in them, likely a result after having bared a child for nine months - an inseparable connection, one that forgoed science and technology.

And on this night, Mikoto's instinct was sharper than ever.

An evening of fine dining and dancing had gone on for hours until she'd finally called it quits, softly excusing herself and Sasuke for the evening. The Grand Central Hotel was indeed the finest that Kyoto, Japan had to offer, but something had felt amiss. Then again, something had felt amiss to her even before they'd decided to hold the family meeting (though the world viewed it as a family reunion - she scoffed at the idea).

For some time now there had been a darkness amongst them. Mikoto couldn't be sure from whom it came, but it was there, living and breathing amongst them like kin. She'd heard rumors before even dating (and later on marrying) Fugaku that the Uchiha family was cursed, but she'd never believed it. Not even after she discovered the secrets buried in the blood of their - her - family. Not even after she'd seen the horrors that were the past links of the Uchiha family history.

Not until now.

Sasuke was warm against her chest as she carried him to the elevator, stepped inside, and hit the number twenty. He was six, small against her chest but growing: long spindly legs granted him a speed she felt too old to keep up with, but she managed. She adored and loved him as she adored and loved Itachi, whom had been noticably absent from the meeting that night. It worried her in ways that mothers worried for their children: _is he alright, what he was doing, and why was he keeping to himself these days?_

The elevator dinged along as it moved from floor to floor. Although she expected it to stop once or twice, it didn't - it plowed steadily along, rising and rising, until finally the number twenty lit up. The door opened, and she stepped out into the hall.

It was dark.

The chandelier lights that had lit the long hallway the night before were out. She hesitated, perhaps a brief flicker of debate crossing her. _Should she go forward? Should she go back?_

_More importantly, why were the lights out in the dead of night?_

Something tacky like this might've happened in cheap motels and hotels, but it simply did not happen in a place such as this. Those that lived in luxury, like herself, did not experience the common occurrences that most people did. It was only as these thoughts crossed Mikoto that she noticed something equally disturbing: the soft music and flutter of conversation was gone. It was as if the hotel had drawn in a deep breath and was holding it, waiting in anticipation for what was to come.

Sasuke shifted against her, nose pressing into the crook of her neck. He mumbled something under his breath, small fingers fisting into the folds of her silky gown. She clutched him to her as gently as a protective mother could, and stepped forward.

Faint moonlight guided her down the hallway, which seemed to stretch and grow before her. Logically she knew this was impossible of course, and tried one last time to throw off the sensation that something was not only wrong here, but something _evil_ was here as well. Darkness was not a literal object, she reasoned. Darkness was the absence of light, and soon it would disappear when she got into their room and turn the lights on.

Mikoto was halfway down the hall when she _felt_ more than she heard _it. _A faint scratching noise, like a claw scraping against metal or glass. It had her frozen for a time, disbelief and fear keeping her rooted in place, facing the way at which she needed to go to reach the safety of their room. She didn't snap out of it until she heard the deep, husky intake of breath. But it wasn't a human sound, no, not at all.

It sounded as if something, whatever it was, was _smelling_ the air.

The paralyzing fear that had Mikoto rooted in place no longer held its vice grip on her: she ran, Sasuke bouncing against her chest. Reason was no longer an option. This was it, whatever it was, what it had been: the darkness looming amongst their family. Something - or someone - that only she seemed to have noticed. She _felt _something behind her, but she didn't - couldn't - turn to face it. Mikoto tasted fear in her mouth, felt it in the tremble of her arms and legs.

Sasuke jerked from his slumber, blinking owlishly. Innocent cobalt eyes looked up, latching onto his mother's fear-driven face just as they reached their room. Her heart was beating so eratically he could feel it through her clothing, and it scared him.

"Mommy?"

Mikoto was shaking, frantically feeling for the key to their room.

"Wh-what's wrong?" The boy croaked out, eyes swelling with tears. He could feel her fear, and in that moment it became his.

_Panting. Breathing. Smelling._

_Scrrriiiichhhhh..._

Sasuke turned his head, staring down the hall at what his mother refused to face.

He screamed.

The door burst open, a wane of light blinding the both of them temporarily. Sasuke's shrill scream never stopped though, and his wide, terrified eyes never left the eyes of the monster approaching them. They remained locked, his own fearful - a fear that derived from a type of terror only the soul could feel - and the monster's bright red, ridden with hunger and hate.

_Such hate. _

_Such overwhelming hate._

Mikoto was ripped from him - or perhaps she threw him, things were happening so fast he couldn't keep up. He fell back into the room, mouth sagging open, his whole body trembling with the weight of what he was seeing before him.

His mother was being taken.

She was screaming, both at him (_Get in the room Sasuke! Get in! Lock the door! Call the cops! Hide! Hide Sasuke!_) and the monster. Claws, pitch-black and stained with blood, ripped into the long black sleeves. His mother's pale skin was revealed, rivulets of blood dripping down her arms like red streams. She was being pulled away from him, disappearing down the hall.

He wanted to save her -

- but he was scared.

_He was a child._

And as a child that was so terrified he wet himself, Sasuke did the only sensible thing he could after he mustered enough of _himself_ to move: he scooted back into the room, then kicked the door shut. All around him, screams sounded off, one by one. He imagined the monster picking his family members up one by one - or maybe there was more than one monster? - and dragging them off as it had his mother.

He clasped his shaking hands over his ears and shook his head, tears streaming as he rocked himself forward and backwards.

Sasuke didn't realize he was screaming too, until his throat was too hoarse to continue.

* * *

It was three o'clock in the morning and I had two things on my mind as I stood on the corner of Central and First, hands jammed in my pockets, trying to look casual:

The first being I was _hungry_. Maybe even starving. The last time I could recall eating that day (or yesterday, rather) was breakfast - and let me tell _you_ something: five bowls of ramen was not enough to keep a growing man going for more than six hours. It had to have been over sixteen hours since then; sixteen hours since I'd been forced into this trivial hunting game, at which I was beginning to suspect was merely a joke on the pack's part.

Oh, and the second thing on my mind? I hated Tsunade baa-chan, more at this moment than any other in my life. The drunk old woman was probably lounging in her lazyboy, twenty empty sake bottles littered over the coffee table, laughing and having a jolly old time. _'I hate her,' _I thought, fingers fisting together tightly inside my pockets. _'I hate her and I'm going to leave them as soon as I get back_.' My nails sharpened into claws unbeknownst to me, and nipped at my palms warningly. I was startled at first, but after a moment I clenched them harder, finding some form of relief when the sting bit harder -sharper- and then a burst of warm liquid slowly trickled down my hands.

_Blood_. I flexed my fingers testingly, shivering as the hot aroma finally reached me and stung my nostrils, filled my lungs. I didn't like being attracted to blood, but it was as undeniable as the oxygen I needed in my lungs. Whether it was someone else's blood or my own, it all had the same effect: it calmed me. _Elated_ me. It was better than ramen, though I'd never, _ever_ admit that to anyone.

I drew in a shaky breath, eyes shutting as I slumped back against the brick wall behind me. In the dead of night, Kyoto was still relatively awake. It wasn't nearly as bad as Tokyo had been for sure -that place was nothing but noisy chaos. I was pretty erratic myself mind you - a prankster, a loud-mouth, hyper, jovial, too bright (as I'd been told by many) for what I was, but it was different when other people and places were like that. I liked having some part of me that was still me, even after all the years that I'd been living _this_ life.

But that didn't mean I appreciated being thrust into the type of pandemonium I usually had a hand in creating. Tokyo had been the worst, even compared to Los Angeles or New York. Not only was it literally as cluttered as you'd imagine -13 million inhabitants- but there was never a point in time when it was quiet. The nightlife was as vivid as daytime. Instead of sunlight there was neonlight. Hell, they didn't even _need_ moonlight; the neon pinks, greens, oranges and yellows lit up the streets like a kaleidoskope on fire. Interestingly enough, it was also louder at night than during the day.

Clubs would be pounding music against the walls, hot bodies dancing and grinding. Drinks were passed around like slushies between children. Kyoto wasn't nearly as lively as Tokyo, but in certain parts - the parts I happened to not be stationed at tonight - it was just as upbeat and thriving.

'_Damn, a slushy sounds good_,' I mused to myself silently, eyes reopening to peer around hopefully. Central and First was quiet compared to the rest of the city. Small shops littered Central, mostly small bistros and restaurants. There was a noodle shop called Ichiraku's a few blocks down that I'd been haunting since we'd moved here. Just thinking about it made my stomach clench unpleasantly, a rumble shuddering up through my whole body, reminding me again how hungry I was. Pulling my hands from their pockets, I wrapped them around myself, sighing loudly.

There was no threat here.

Tsunade was _wrong_.

_'I could be filling my gut with pure, heavenly ramen.' _My mouth watered at the thought. I could smell the salty scent. I could taste the warm broth, the slickness of the noodles... _'God, I am so hungry.'_

Kyoto was as settled and calm as the moon was hanging in the night sky. There were no clouds hiding its view from him. It was open. Clean. Pure.

There were no demons here. No vampires. No werewolf clans. Not a sniff of supernatural could be seen, and if there was anyone who could find trouble brewing in a city or town, it was _me_. Naruto Namikaze.

'_Miso ramen. Chicken ramen. Beef ramen. Hell, I'd even try the Curry ramen the old man was trying to get me to try...' _I snickered at this, memories of the night before crossing over me like a warm blanket.

_"Oi! Old man! Ayame!" I was bursting with excitement, shoving - no, exploding - through the flaps of the small ramen shop with an exuberance that only I was capable of showing at six in the morning. _

_Two minutes prior the shop hadn't been open, but I'd waited. I __**did **__have the patience of a stalker when I wanted to, especially when it came to my favorite food. Even more-so when I'd decided that Ichiraku's Ramen was my favorite ramen place in the whole world. Well, my __**new **__favorite place (the last one had been in Sokoro, which I'd discovered two years ago and had made yearly trips just to taste their craft.)_

_An old man poked his head out from behind the shabby shoji screen that divided the front of the shop from the mini-kitchen, where __**god**__ was cooked and served in a bowl. Sweet, salty steam already clouded the air, and it was as mouthwatering now as it'd been ten hours ago. _

_I stepped forward eagerly, throwing myself onto a stool. Grabbing a pair of chopsticks, I pricked them apart eagerly, beaming as brilliant of a smile as I could muster at the old man._

_He knew what I wanted._

_I didn't even have to __**tell**__ him anymore._

_"Same old, ne?" The old man questioned, voice gruff, but there was a friendly smile on his face and a twinkle to his eye._

_I could do nothing but nod._

_"I'll give you this one on the house, Naruto-kun, if you'll do me a favor later." he continued, pitter-pattering around the screen, revealing a steaming bowl of chicken ramen in his hands. He set it before me, leaning heavily against the counter._

_"And what's that?" I questioned lightly, making myself wait (as painful as it was) before I jumped into devouring the morsel. I didn't like to agree to things blindly anymore, like I once had as a child. Back then I'd have done something for someone regardless if there was a returning favor. I'd been blind and naively ambitious._

_That was something I hadn't kept with me, after the Change._

_"I have a new product I was wanting to test. Curry ramen." I could feel the old man's eyes on me, pensive and anxious, awaiting a response to his request. "Figured I'd let you have the first taste, since you are our favorite customer." _

_There was only one problem: I hated curry. Just the thought of it made a bitterness form on my tongue._

_Still, like hell if I'd pass up free ramen. _

_"You're on!"_

Except I didn't make it to the dinner-date that night. Instead, I'd been forced onto a Nightwatch by Tsunade. I was furious, but once Tsunade gives the order, one doesn't simply say no. Even Kakashi didn't turn away from the old woman when she was serious (which was a rarity, mind you). My anger had dissolved some as the night passed, reason trying to quell the childish anger in me._ Tsunade looked serious. Tsunade is to be taken on her word if she looks sober. _

_Tsunade has to be aware of something going on if she isn't out gambling on a Sunday night._

Not this time though. It'd been dead all night. The only living, breathing being still on the street was myself. It was the type of eerie silence that made me wish we were in Tokyo, or at least another part of Kyoto, where people were out and about. The only thing worse than it being so loud and noisy you can't hear your own thoughts is when there's nothing but total silence. The sheer blankness that hung in the air was paranoia-inspiring. That was the worst part of the job, in my opinion.

_The waiting._

Anticipating at any moment a monster would present itself to you.

_'But why would she make me stay here when there's clearly no one out in this area at night?' _If the truth were to be known, that was the only reason I was still standing here. The old bag had never sent me somewhere so desolate to observe and report back on. If I was being honest with myself, it was part of why I wanted to leave so badly: the possible danger that could show up at any moment on these dark, empty streets was more terrifying than the small taste of fear I felt when staked out at a club, or something similar. There were people there. Humans. Distractions for the other monsters to focus on.

They were drawn to humans for many reasons, food being the most common. Most of them weren't anticipating an attack from their own kind, so it made things simpler for their pack to hunt them.

A puff of white mist hung in the air before me when I sighed. Bored, I huffed again, watching as another stream of misty breath left my mouth. I toyed with my cell phone a moment later, pulling it from my pockets. Flipping it open I stared at the time.

4:03 AM winked at me.

_"Brat, I want you to stay out there until dawn."_

_"But whhhyyyy? Come on, you know that Jii-san offered me free ramen on a deal. I'm supposed to be there tonight to try out his cu-"_

_"Naruto." Tsunade's tone had hardened. It wasn't the seriousness of her voice that cut me off though. It was the fact she'd said my name._

_"There is something going on there. I need you on watch tonight."_

_"Where?" I felt my lips curve into a pout._

_"First and Central."_

_A loud sigh. "What should I be expecting?"_

_There was a heavy, pregnant silence that followed my question. Tsunade leaned back in her chair, head turning slightly. Tired, dark almond eyes stared out the window, observing Kyoto with intense focus. Finally, just as I was about to repeat myself - maybe the old woman was finally going deaf - she spoke up again._

_"I don't know. We think something is going on with the Uchiha family."_

_"The Uchiha?" I blurted out, laughing while simultaneously rolling my eyes. This was ridiculous. The __**Uchiha**__? "Didn't we study them a long time ago?" I was impatient to convince her to change her mind. I had made a deal, a promise. I didn't go back on my word, even if it was a simple deal made with a simple human. "There were no results. Nothing but a bunch of stuck-up bastards who care more about their money and precious image than real people."_

_"Well," Tsunade cleared her throat, reaching for another sake bottle on her desk. There were many of them left - a fresh stock - and all were lined up uniformly, like a mini-militia preparing for battle. "I think we were wrong."_

First street was the opposite of Central: expensive apartment complexes and hotels were littered down the road. It was a quieter, but more elegant part of Kyoto. The length of the streets almost crossed the entirety of the city. Though not nearly as big as Japan's capitol, it was still larger than most cities I'd been to. Central street was the hub of all the major businesses and department stores in the area, but as the street proceeded southern towards the edges of the city (where I was), skyscrapers were replaced by grocery stores and small boutiques. Decorated restaurants haunted a corner street or two, but for the most part it was littered with smaller booths, quickie stores.

Like Ichiraku's.

Like a magnet drawn to metal, my eyes flickered down the dark Central street. The lightposts only offered minimal lighting in the dark, but I could still easily make out the closed booth. The old panneling needed replaced, as well as the entrance flaps. Salt and steam stains had darkened the cloth, which had likely once been white, but was now yellow. Beside Ichiraku's was a small gift shop named Merry Makers.

My phone vibrated. I started, quickly pulling myself from the brick wall, fumbling to pull out my phone again.

A text.

**Anything? **

_from Tsunade_

**Nope. Been as dead as a door nail all night. Can I leave now?**

My thumb hovered over send for a split second before I pressed it. I got a response only moments later.

**No. Go down First, tell me if you see anything. They're supposed to be staying at the Grand Central Hotel, twentieth floor.**

_from Tsunade_

**Fine. I'm leaving if I don't see anything baa-chan.**

I hit send, then shoved the phone into my pocket. I started forward after that moodily, trying to ignore the feeling rising in the back of my mind. A dark presence was pressing down against my subconscious, a sixth sense of foreboding that I couldn't shake as I waked. I comforted myself with thoughts of a hot meal and sleep.

_'I'll walk by the hotel. Maybe around it a few times._.' I mused to myself, picking up my pace to a faint jog. Within a few seconds or so I passed Ichiraku's, staring at it longingly as I did. Merry Maker's was next. A few more restaurants, a dressy boutique, a suit store, another restaurant..

And then there was a sudden change of business on First. Hotels loomed before me now, several stories high, but none were as large as the Grand Central Hotel. The lighting at this part of the street was dim, but I shrugged it off to the back of my mind as an after thought, slowing down. An enormous entryway set the Grand Central Hotel apart from the rest of places - it stood out against all other businesses on the street, simply due to its sheer size.

I'd passed it on my way to Central twelve hours ago, but I hadn't really noticed it then. I'd been in a rush. Staring at it now I felt my mouth drop open. I had to tilt my head back to take in the full view of its grandeuir.

The building itself was comprised of cream-colored stone and splintered marbeling, accentuated by story-tall windows; they were all dark, something I tried to ignore as I looked on. Hundreds of expensive-looking cars cluttered the parking spaces. A small security post was near the entrance to the lobbyroom, the faint lighting inside revealing it was empty. Gleaming pillars were positioned around the complex like guards. In bold, intricately-carved letters, _**Welcome to the Grand Central Hotel, the finest in Kyoto**_, beckoned me.

'_Baa-chan said the Uchiha were here for a business meeting_.' I thought, chewing on my inner cheek silently. '_The whole family_.' She had told me how many there were, even gone through some of their names, but I couldn't recall the massive list. Too many to count. At least fifty, sixty. Children, parents and grandparents included.

They could've rented out the entire hotel for all I knew.

I knew why she'd sent me now. I had felt only a tiny shred of it before, back at my corner, but I could sense it now: the darkness. It hugged every bit of the hotel before me, sucking the light and all that was good from everything in the premises. Even the streetlights were dimmed compared to the rest, as if..

_As if a demon was lurking in the area._

_Or a vampire._

There was a grand list of possibilities.

_'Explains why the guard post is empty then, ne?' _I joked to myself helplessly, glancing back over towards the dimly-lit post. Through the glass windows a small microphone and dashboard could be seen, as well as an empty seat that screamed of what might've happened in the last couple hours. There was a question burning in the back of my conscious that I couldn't decipher as I moved forward, winding between rows and rows of expensive mercedes, cadillacs and BMWs. All of them were perfectly parked, as would be expected of their perfect owners.

The closer I drew to the guard's booth the more sluggish I felt. Hesitance weighed in on me like an anchor, threatening to draw me to a complete standstill if I didn't pull it back up and get it under control. I imagined a lot of what I might find when I reached the window: a policeman snoozing away on a couch in the back; maybe he was in the bathroom, and just when I showed up he'd reappear, demanding to know why a brat like me was near his pristine hotel. Or he could be out back, on the other side of the building, smoking a cigarette or blunt.

A lot of options.

Unfortunately when I reached the small building and peered inside, it was none of the hopeful options.

There was blood. Everywhere.

And a dead body lay on the ground, eyes wide open and filled with a fear so terrifying it remained etched on his face even after death had found him.

I felt something rise in my gut, as repulsive and nauseating as vomit: _hunger_. I forced myself to look away and hold my breath, reaching with shaky hands into my pocket. I put the phone to my ear after speedialing number 1.

"Tsunade." I breathed out, clenching my eyes as I was forced to draw in another breath - a breath full of blood. Blood that wasn't my own.

"You were right. There's a problem, there-"

Screams sounded out into the night air from the Grand Central Hotel, shaking me to my very soul.

* * *

The dead bodies were piled on the dance floor like a display case. They were lined evenly, various parts of them tore apart or dismembered. All of their heads were attached, I noticed right away, trying to hold my breath in as long as I could while looking around.

Inside the Grand Central Hotel, Death had visited. Tables laced with silk were turned over, wine that looked like blood was sprayed across the tables and the floor. Plates once teeming with steaming, delicious food was left untouched - the monster hadn't been interested in caviar or rare steak, judging by the chunks of body parts missing from the humans present.

They all looked alike. The Uchihas.

I realized with a start I couldn't have told one natural-born Uchiha apart from one they'd married outside the family. All of them had dark hair, all of them wore darker, finer clothing, certainly more suitable for something you'd see at a medieval ball than a twenty-first century evening party. It reminded me of better days, when life was easier and simpler. When people didn't care about technology, and cared about each other.

_When stopping tragic murders like this was easier._

A good forty bodies lay lifeless. Porcelain-skinned dolls, each lovely and beautiful in their own way (_like vampires_, I thought, grimacing). But they were all dead.

The darkness of their eyes were lifeless.

And no matter what qualms my pack might have had before about them, there was one thing I could conclude, staring at this mass: they were human. The blood pouring from them and filling the marble flooring was as human as Adam and Eve had been. Not a tinge of demonic taint clung to it, and for some reason or another, that worried me more than anything.

There had been rumors of this family, stretching on for centuries. That they affiliated with demons, those that were considered darker than the baseline supernatural. There were monsters that were natural to this world and some that simply didn't belong, and those were the worst kind. The demons. There was no limit or book that covered every breed and type. They were more unpredictable. They were unnatural.

_'Well, there won't be anyway to find out if they're all dead now, will there?' _There was no humor to my thoughts. I felt disgust and fear, but underneath the both of them was sadness. Even if I had never cared for this.. _particular_ family, to have their entire kin wiped out in a single night was something I wouldn't have wished on anyone.

As soon as I'd reached the building I'd scaled the walls, launching from one ledge to the next until I reached the twentieth floor. Blood trails had led me through several different stories, and a few minutes into my invesitgation, the screaming had stopped. No matter how I had ran, trying to follow what I thought and felt the monster's direction to be, it only led to more blood and death. Those whose screams I'd heard were left behind once they'd been silenced, leaving dead, dark eyes staring up at the ceiling of whichever room I'd found them in. The same paralyzed terror I'd witnessed on the guard's face was on theirs.

The lights had flickered back on, one by one, until everything was lit and active again. Elevator music resumed playfully, the ballroom's classical notes softly trilling throughout the lower halls. It was as if by some twisted sense of humor the monster had decided to return things to the way it had been before the mass killings - except nobody was alive, only dead bodies where grandparents, parents, and children should've been. Of which there were plenty.

'_Ten on the twentieth floor_.' I mentally recounted.

_'Fifteen in the dining room.'_

'_Forty in the ballroom.'_

_And that wasn't counting the humans that weren't part of the Uchiha family._

The staff of the hotel had likewise been ridded of: kitchen staff slumped on counters, their throats gouged out. The maids and cleaning crew's throats slit, four claw marks drawn across their jugulars. Other hotel patrons and clients had been murdered as well, most of them dead in their beds, some in tubs filled with blood-stained water.

I leaned against the archway leading into the ballroom, nauseous. I'd never seen or smelled so much blood before in my life. For once, the hunger inside me dissipated, and only the human emotions I tried so hard to cling to remained. I could feel something foreign burning in the back of my eyes, and I didn't realize until I felt a teardrop burn a scorching, wet path down my cheek that I was crying.

Crying for people I didn't even know.

'_I'm so weak_.' I thought helplessly.

"Naruto?" a soft voice called out from somewhere nearby.

I rubbed at my eyes quickly, feeling ashamed of myself. What was I doing, crying? The Uchiha weren't people you mourned for. Except it wasn't just for them - it was for all of them, Uchiha and the others. Seeing the dead bodies of children was something no one with a soul got used to.

A little girl was lying near the edge of the display of bodies, rolled over to face me. Her pretty dark hair was held up in violet ribbons. A simple yet elegant gown fanned around her waist. She was the only one without a fearful expression on her face - she simply looked startled, eyes wide, mouth shut, and if she hadn't been dead I would've thought she was staring at me. The look on her face could've said anything, but what I heard was:

_Why are you so late? You could've saved me._

"Is it gone?" A hand came to rest on my shoulder gently, squeezing. I tensed, straining to regain some semblance of myself before turning to face Kiba. He was staring past me, at the bodies littering the ground. Slowly my friend's mouth dropped open while his sharp, wolf-like eyes widened in shock.

"What _the fuck_? Who did this?"

Kiba ran forward, and I watched through a lensed view as he repeated the same actions I'd done just minutes prior: feel for a pulse, sift through the dead bodies. Akamaru, his newest doggy companion, leapt from the male's arms and trudged around, barking mournfully.

"None are alive. I checked all of them." My voice felt far-away, bleak. The world around me seemed to grow a bit more gray with each passing second. Despite what I said to him, Kiba continued, shaking with the same type of desperance that had left me a short while ago. _There was no hope here. _

"Kiba."

"No, _no_, one of them has to be alive. Naruto, there's no way something killed all these people in five minutes." The dogboy panted. Akamaru was whining quietly, threading inbetween Kiba's long legs.

"Kiba I _looked_." My voice was annoyingly shaky. "I didn't see an-"

There was a crash, coming from upstairs.

My heart jumped in my throat. Before I knew what I was doing I was running, Kiba and Akamaru on my tail. Distantly I wondered where everyone else was, but shoved that to the back of my mind. I needed to focus on the present. I needed to make sure that nothing else bad happened here.

And if there was one person alive, that gave me all the reason I needed to be strong enough.

* * *

It had been quiet for a long time. But not long enough, he reckoned, to come out.

Sasuke was huddled into the deepest corner of his mother's closet. The sliding-glass window that served as the door to it had been closed for the most part, though he'd left a small crack open, just so he could see if anyone or... or _anything_ came into their room.

Perhaps one of the few rooms the monster hadn't entered, he could make out most of the fine decor: margaret red, plush carpet was spread throughout the entirety of their multi-room suite. A small kitchenette was stocked to his mother's liking. A mahogany entertainment center, coffee table and side tables richened the velveteen furniture. Two large bathrooms were polished and pristine, made with only the finest of equipment.

It wasn't necessarily home, but it was something he was familiar with.

His hands wrapped around his knees, drawing them to his chest tightly. He was still trembling, traumatized by what he'd witnessed only a few minutes prior. Now, it felt like it'd happened hours (if not days) ago. He noticed the little things, mostly, his mind not able to process anything more at this point.

_He was cold and tired._

_His throat hurt._

_It was hard to breathe._

_He missed his mom._

_Where was she?_

_Was she dead?_

_Would she come back?_

_Where was Itachi and father?_

Sasuke shook, pressing his face into the tops of his knees. He didn't think he could've gotten up if he'd wanted to, he felt so weak. He didn't think he could cry anymore either. Everytime he felt like he was going to, his throat clamped up and his eyes burned painfully, as if there were no more tears inside of him to give. He'd dried himself up.

Sasuke sniffled, clenching himself tighter. He hoped this was a nightmare. A terrible, scary nightmare, at which he was going to wake up from any moment now. Mother and father would be asleep, Itachi-nii would be in his study working on a paper due Monday. He could go up to him and crawl into his lap, and Itachi would say...

_"Not now Sasuke. Go back to sleep." _He'd prod his forehead gently, pick him up, and carry him back to bed.

_'Please be a nightmare_,' Sasuke thought to himself. Pleaded, even. _'Please be a scary dream. Please let me wake up. Please_.'

But this wasn't a nightmare. It was reality.

The door to their room burst open. Sasuke's eyes snapped open. Staring through the small slit, he saw it.

The monster.

It was a hulkish creature, in the shape of a man's body but deformed, enlargened and twisted to appear like wolf. It's figure was covered in a thick coat of black fur, and at full height Sasuke knew it would've towered over his father, and his father was a tall man. It was hunched onto all fours, its hind legs gargoyle-like, while his front were webbed and clawed, but shaped like humans hands. Its skin was grizzly dark and sickly, as if he - _it_ - hadn't been in daylight for years. A wolf snout and reddish eyes were tilted upward as it breathed in, then out deeply.

Its chest was shaking with each intake.

It was... _excited_. Red eyes were bright with anticipation. The hunger that Sasuke had seen in its eyes was gone. It had feasted, heartily.

His mother's fearful face flashed into his mind, and a fearful squeak left him.

The beast's head snapped in his direction, and it inhaled again, rising to rest on its two hind legs. It looked more humanoid this way, but no less terrifying.

And then it started towards him. Sasuke huddled as far back as he could, trying to be quiet, but his shaking hands and body betrayed him, bumping into clothing and rattling the hangers as he moved. The monster snarled - _perhaps a laugh? _- as it continued trekking closer.

Sasuke couldn't see through the slitted opening anymore, though. And if he was going to die, as he felt he was, he'd rather not see the monster's predatorily approach. His eyes shut, and Sasuke tried to think of happier times.

And then there was a noise. He heard it, at first thinking that it might've been the monster. He was closing in now, wasn't he? But it wasn't. It was coming from outside of their room, in the hallway. Shouts. Feet pounding against the rich, wooden floor of the hallway. Sasuke's breath hitched, but he didn't dare hope. If his mother and father couldn't scare away the monster, then how could others?

"Naruto! Wait!" A foreign voice yelled, sharp but fearful. "You don't know what's in there!"

There was a rattle of steps that ensued. Whoever they were, they were getting closer.

A low whine filled the room, and then suddenly glass shattered from somewhere nearby. Sasuke imagined it was a window, but he didn't know for sure, and he was too scared to move still. His heart was pounding in his ears loudly.

What if the people coming were bad, too?

"N-Naru..to..."

"_Shh_."

They were in the room too, now. Sasuke stayed still, frozen. The two were speaking amongst each other in whispers, walking throughout the room, opening doors and shutting them. Each step brought them a little closer to where he was, and with them more tantalizing, suffocating fear. He wondered if he was going to go to the dark place, like he had when he'd had surgery a few months ago.

"It came back to this room for a reason." The one named Naruto, most likely, spoke. His tone was serious and tense. "The window. It broke it to get out.. but why not just face us? It killed the rest of the people."

"Mom's dead..?" He whispered aloud unknowingly, one hand raising to fist into his hair. He stared at the wall before him, dazed with disbelief.

_If mom was dead, then didn't that mean dad was too?_

"It's dawn Naruto. See the sun?" Curtains were pulled further aside. He could hear the _shhrrrrr_ as they slid along the pole.

"Did you hear that?"

"...hear what? I didn't hear anything, idiot." The one with the gruff voice said, slightly annoyed. A dog barked suddenly, and before Sasuke knew it he could hear the pitter-patter of pawed footfalls. Every inch of him seized up in terror, knowing for sure that if the people in the room hadn't noticed him for sure, then the dog had. Sure enough, light was suddenly tipping into the closet he was hiding in as the dog nosed the door open just enough to spot him.

It barked and whined, and then the other two came.

Sasuke didn't move. He remained frozen like a deer in headlights as the many clothes' racks hiding him were yanked away. If they were going to kill him, he hoped it was quick.

A face appeared suddenly, illuminated by dawn's first rays of sunlight. A tan, heart-shaped face, with a sharp jawline and high cheekbones. Three scars marred either of his cheeks like whiskers. Blond, rugged locks framed his (for it was obviously male) face. A few tendrils hovered over his shoulders while the rest dripped over the most startlingly-blue eyes he had ever seen in his life.

"Hey, it's okay. You can come out now." The angel knelt down, slowly reaching out towards him. Sasuke recoiled, still staring at him with wide eyes.

"Is the monster gone?" He managed to ask finally, voice hoarse.

Slowly, the blonde looked back over his shoulder at whoever else was with him. When he turned to face Sasuke again, a smile so bright it put the sun to shame had broken out over his face.

"The monster's gone. My name's Naruto, I came here to try to help people get away from the monster." He paused a moment, observing Sasuke while Sasuke stared back at him, open-mouthed and full of momentary wonder. "What's your name?"

Sasuke hesitated briefly, remembering his mother's words on talking to strangers. _Except his mother was dead, wasn't she? Hadn't this angel and whoever he was with say so?_

_Did that mean he was dead too, and he could see his parents again?_

The man before him looked like an angel. He'd seen plenty of them during their Sunday church outings. His mother had decorated her garden with them as well. They were always beautiful or handsome, with gentle-looking features and an ethereal softness to them.

_"Angels exist to protect us Sasuke. Everyone has a guardian angel, ne?" Mikoto smiled at her younger son, finishing the last of the pruning needed to be done on her rose bushes. "They make you feel safe."_

Sasuke stared into the male's vivid, lively blue eyes.

'_Do I feel safe?'_

Before he knew it his small hand was being placed into Naruto's much larger, warm one. Their skin contrast never occurred to him.

"My name is Sasuke." he breathed out quietly, hiccupping.

"Well Sasuke," Naruto breathed out, gently picking the small child up by his armpits. "I'm here to keep you safe, I promise. You understand that?" Two brows arched over while he searched Sasuke's expression.

"Always?" He asked, a mere whisper.

Naruto gave him another brilliant, full-force smile, and for the first time that night Sasuke relaxed. He laid his head against the male's shoulder and burrowed his face into his shirt. Before he knew it, a few more tears were leaking out.

"I promise, Sasuke."

_Yes. Yes, he did feel safe._

* * *

End Chapter 1. Chapter 2 coming soon.

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto. It all belongs to Kishimoto.. I do own this storyline though. Don't steal.

**A/N: **Hope you all liked it! Lemme know!

Special thanks to _Imagination Central _for my first review. I love you. Huehuehuehue! I need a beta. Someone volunteer.

R & R.


	3. Ch 2: Secrets

**Waiting Between Worlds  
**_By Without Warrant_

Chapter 2: Secrets

'Til all my sleeves are stained red  
From all the truth that I've said  
I'll come by it honestly,  
_I swear_

* * *

_In the late evening of December 20th, 1999, a massacre  
__took place at the Grand Central Hotel of Kyoto, Japan. Policemen  
__identified 139 bodies, belonging both to the hotel's employees and its  
__customers. It has been deduced that the primary targets of the attack  
__belonged to none other than the prestigious Uchiha family, most of whom  
__were attending a family reunion. Over seventy of the hotel's residents  
__that night were identified to belong to the family. Children, parents,  
__and grandparents alike were murdered, leaving none but a sole  
__survivor: Sasuke Uchiha, age six. _

_It is believed that whoever conducted the attacks was not  
__aware as to the whereabouts of the child, who had been  
__hiding in his room's closet. He was discovered by a passerby  
__(whose name has not been released) who claimed to have heard the  
__screams coming from the hotel shortly before the police were contacted._

_Besides Sasuke Uchiha, his brother Itachi Uchiha, age eleven, was  
__found safely in his family residence in Tokyo, Japan later that morning. While  
__no motives have been found, Kyoto officials are doing their best to unravel  
__what has become this historic city's greatest tragedy since the Edo Period._

* * *

"How do you plan on taking care of a child, Naruto?"

"Ma, ma, I can do it Tsunade baa-chan!"

The room was unnaturally quiet. It was a round, circular room, filled with beige walls and rice paper flooring. Walls were lined with bookcases filled with ancient texts, most of which were falling apart at the spine - they were likewise illegible to the common enthusiast, not merely due to their decrepit age, but due to the other-worldly language they were writ. Portraits (for they were not measly pictures) hung in various places, showcasing a blonde woman of great beauty. Accompanied in most was a child, who seemed to age from picture to picture.

Interestingly enough, while the sceneries and settings aged as well, the woman in them did not. After a time, neither did the blond-haired boy, though the portraits went on, framing times and places most humans had never lived to see.

A large mahogany desk had been placed in the center of the room and was surrounded by several chairs, at the head of which Tsunade, the leader of their pack, was seated. The rest were empty beyond the one that I was seated in. The room was still relatively crowded, regardless: six figures stood around the room, hovering near her and I, but always at a safe distance. There was an invisible bubble, almost akin to a barrier, that loomed around Tsunade and I - we were set apart from the rest of them.

"You think you're capable of taking care of a six year old then, Naruto?" Tsunade demanded, a soft tsk leaving the corners of her set lips. She leaned forward in her chair, hands clasping before her. I didn't like the way she was looking at me as if I was a ten year old, but it was something I'd gotten used to. Begrudgingly so.

"Yes." I responded quickly, crossing my arms over my chest stubbornly. "It's not like I'm a child anymore." '_I can show you, if you'll just give me a chance_,' I added to myself silently, gnawing on my inner cheek.

An unspoken thought crossed not only her mind, but many of the others' present as well: _Naruto may well be over a century old, but he still acted like a juvenile._

"And it wouldn't just be one child that you'd be watching over." she continued, almost as if I hadn't spoken at all. At her words I snapped to attention, blinking at her owlishly. '_She didn't tell me that on purpose. Is this how she really thinks she'll change my mind? Hah!' _I smiled smugly to myself, trying not to let it grow too much on my face.

I had to approach this carefully.

"What do you mean? None of the other Uchihas survived."

"None of those at the Hotel did." she corrected, shaking her head at me firmly. "One did, though, outside of it."

This was news. Some part of me almost felt as if she'd been holding this from me on purpose.. _but why? _I leaned forward, frowning. "Who?"

Tsunade observed me silently, eyes flicking from my face to the those behind me. Of the six others present, she looked repetitively towards the one on the far right. I didn't have to turn to know who she was looking at: Kakashi Hatake. The infamous Copycat Familiar. In my mind's eye, I could picture him perfectly: he was a tall figure, dressed in black slacks and a button-up vest-jacket. The lower half of his face was covered by a mask, his one good eye lidded, black pupil staring down at the blond male. He was set apart from a standard-looking Japanese man: brilliant silver hair stood out in spikes atop his head, as eye-catching as the scar-sealed eye that always remained shut.

There was a slight rustle of clothing when Kakashi stepped forward, clearing his throat softly before speaking. "Itachi Uchiha."

I twisted around in my seat to stare at him, perturbed. It was never a good sign when Tsunade dragged others into our **Debates**, as I liked to call them. Nine times out of ten I won the ones that were a fair battle: her against me. When it was seven to one, even I knew I was going to be hard-pressed to bat a home run. Still, I wasn't going to give up.

Subconsciously my eyes narrowed as I stared at the man, who was staring back at me curiously. I'd never been on bad terms with him. If anything, it was the opposite - we had an odd relationship, at one point in time I'd been his pupil, even. _'Please,' _I begged through my eyes, flashing him a hopeful smile that screamed for his help, _'come on Kakashi-senpai!'_

Kakashi Hatake, their resident mentor and shadow, grimaced visibly.

"That's the older brother right?" I asked tenatively, still _impressing_ myself upon him while my back was turned to Tsunade. '_Please, Kakashi_...'

Kakashi shifted his weight, staring down at me again. An inflection of emotion flickered across the man's face, but it left as quickly as it'd came, leaving me in a state of confusion. '_What was his__problem? Why isn't he siding with me? Come on you pervert, I got you the special edition of Icha-Icha!'_

Tsunade cleared her throat.

"I can watch two kids." I finally broke the silence again, resisting the urge to snort. The silver-haired male gave me an apologetic glance as I turned back to face the old hag. _I wasn't going to give up that easily. _"One of them is older, right? It won't be an issue."

"But there is an issue," Tsunade sighed, reaching up to rub her temples. I sagged back into my seat, annoyed. I didn't understand why this was such an issue. There didn't need to be one, but she and the elders were turning it into one. "The Uchiha family is a prominent figure in Japan, Naruto. They own Uchiha Corps - a development company that specializes in security and tactical defenses. They create new technology that is used by both the Japanese military and its allies."

"And what does this have to do with me?" I demanded. Try as I might, I couldn't find the Waldo of the picture she was trying to point out to me. What was the big deal? They'd already discovered that all of Sasuke's next-of-kin, should his parents perish, had been more members of his family.

Which were all _dead._

Itachi, no older than eleven years old, couldn't take care of his six year old brother. That left only two options: them, or the human childrens' service department. It seemed as plain as day to me to what the best option would be.

"Naru-" Tsunade tried to start again, but was interrupted - by me. I was nearing my limits of patience on the matter, just like everyone else. I honestly couldn't say why I wanted this so badly: family responsibility. Being both a guardian and (dare I think it?) parent to two kids whose family I'd made a joke of just hours before they were slaughtered. Maybe some part of it was guilt, but another part?

"We know that there's a possibility that monster-"

"-Demon," Kakashi interjected quietly, smiling plainly beneath his mask. I bristled at him momentarily, but continued nonetheless:

"Fine, we know there's a _demon,_" I glared back at him pointedly, "that might possibly come looking for Sasuke and his brother. Either way that I look at it, either me or someone else in our pack is going to have to involve ourselves. It's against the code to let a human unknowingly be put into danger." I took in a breath, focused. My words were sharp, becoming more intense as each passed. "I promised the kid that I'd watch out for him, baa-chan."

There were a lot of things I expected in response, but none quite aligned with what happened next:

"We are not allowed to interfere directly with humans Naruto, you know this!" A hand was slammed down onto the fine desk, startling everyone, including me. Though barely discernible, I flinched as Tsunade glowered at me, truly _annoyed_. She pretended she was exhasperated a lot of the time when it came to me, but this was the first time in decades where it was honestly smeared across her face. She was nearing her limits in patience over the matter.

'_Well good,' _I mused stubbornly, unaware as the subtle pout forming on my cheeks. _'Glad I'm not the only one, old hag!'_

"We may aid in saving them, or ridding of demons," Tsunade continued angrily, a red flush marring her cheeks that (for once) wasn't due to alcohol. "- but once our part is done, we pass it over to let _them_ deal with it."

"So you're going to leave two kids unattended when a demon could attack?" The words rolled out from me viciously, foreign and unwelcoming. Like everyone else in the room, I was just as startled as them; a cold shiver drew up my spine. Such a tone would've warranted me a slap or punch in the past, if I'd been alone with her. As it stood now, while Tsunade was clearly angry with her almond eyes darkening, blonde brows pinched together, she did nothing but evaluate me in such a way that made me paranoid of what was to come swinging my way in the future.

"I'm having Kakashi and two others stay on guard around them while they settle into a foster home." She sounded too calm, too suddenly. I shrunk back into my seat subconsciously, averting my gaze.

If looks could kill, I'd have been burnt to crisps.

For a brief moment it seemed as if no one nor anything would follow her words. There was a finality to her statement: the room had exhaled, the tension that'd riddled its walls for the last hour of heated debate finally leaving it. Kakashi and the other five were as still as statues however, staring pensively. Some of their expressions were mixed with relief - _finally, Tsunade had shut her brat up _- while others seemed concerned or uncertain still.

I wanted to open my mouth and say something, but nothing intelligble did when it came out: I was too rattled, both at myself and Tsunade. At the situation that wasn't getting any better. The situation I was clearly losing at this point.

"B-" I finally started again, only to be cut off.

"That," Tsunade snarled. There was a dangerous tone to her voice that silenced me. "Is _final_."

None of us had never been forced to handle a situation of this... magnitude, before.

It'd been three days since the massacres at the Grand Central Hotel.

Itachi Uchiha had been located in Tokyo, Japan, at his family manor. He'd chosen to stay and undergo his extra studies classes at the private school he attended. A butler had served as his chaffeur and caretaker while his family was away on the weekend.

There had been no signs of forced entry on the property, nor any sign of an upcoming attack.

"You are all excused."

I sat there dumbly, mouth partially open. Tsunade did not look victorious, merely stressed in her seat as the other six filed out of the room. I felt Kakashi's lingering gaze on me as he left, but I couldn't turn to look at him. I felt disgraced. Defeated.

It wasn't something I experienced often.

Once the door to her office had been shut, Tsunade rose to her feet. She was dressed in a loose evening kimono, accompanied by a pale green gi that flared around her arms and waist. Despite the casual wear, she demanded attention when in a room; there was a buzz of power that drew it to her like a moth to flame.

"Naruto, you must understand." The angry front eased from her face. As the seconds passed, she looked more her age - her _real_age, and not the deceptive youth that everyone else saw. She was ancient by their race's standards, and one of the last that had both lived and witnessed multiple historic events throughout time. Forever youthful, there were moments (such as this) when more creases seemed noticeable in her forehead, and crow's feet more prominent. It was as if her body, although designed for eternal beauty, was growing tired.

"I don't understand baa-chan." I whispered, slumping into my chair like a child. '_She isn't going to let me do this.'_ The thought was like a punch striking me: it twisted my gut into painful knots. She argued with me often about certain things, but I typically got my way. _'Am I losing my edge? Two times in a row I've wound up being forced to relent to her.' _Though I had the body of a grown man appearing in my early twenties, I felt small under her gaze as she walked, knowing that once again Tsunade saw nothing more than the child she had nurtured and raised over the last few centuries.

_'I'll always be her brat. Her __**kid**__.' _The thought did not come to me pleasantly.

She continued rounding the table towards me, speaking in a softer voice that few had ever been privileged to hear. "It is not safe to involve yourself with humans. It would be total chaos if anyone were to discover that there was supernatural life - intelligent life, stronger than their own - that inhabited their world." Tsunade stood behind my seat now, and brought her hands down to rest on either of my shoulders. I could smell hints of sake and jasmine, and it made me sleepy.

"That boy, Sasuke, is only six. You either leave his life now, and know that he will forget you and everyone else from our pack in a short time.. Or you stay apart of it, and risk everyone's safety. Risk your _pack's_ safety. Your _family's_." Tsunade gently squeezed my shoulders, but I didn't relax. If I'd turned my head back to look up at her then, I'd have seen the matronly look on her face. _But I didn't want to see it. I didn't want her protectiveness anymore._

I had always been her soft spot, her weakness, ever since Dan had died.

"But we're Familiars, baa-chan." I tried one last time, but even I could hear the weakness in my voice. "We exist for them - what is so wrong with making an exception?"

Tsunade trailed a hand up the side of my neck, fingering the green pendant _(her pendant, that she had given me many, many moons ago) _hanging from my neck. I refrained from shivering as her nail brushed my skin. A sad look came over her face, one that highlighted a lingering haunt to her gaze and a pain that no one had experienced nor understood except her for a long, long time.

"Because unlike them, we do not die from old age." Tsunade leaned down and gently kissed the top of my head before moving away, slowly starting towards the exit.

"Making one exception, Naruto, would lead to another, and we can only take so much heartbreak before we can take no more, and shatter."

* * *

_February 11th, 2000_

The dead of winter had long-since passed, but in its wake a few flurries of snow was still falling. Patches of grass could occasionally be spotted from underneath the melting snow and ice, standing out against the white blanket like spotlight on a black stage. For the most part the playground was empty, and for good reason: it was fifteen degrees out, and the children that had dared to explore the jungle gyms and monkey bars for recess had already rushed back inside.

Except one.

A dark-haired boy was seated on one of the swingsets. He wasn't swinging however, booted feet planted firmly on the frozen ground. The child was wearing a black coat that was two sizes too big - he looked like a polar bear clad in fancywear, and the grimace on his face suggested he knew it. Gripping the metal links holding him up with gloved fingers, the boy stared intently at the ground, cobalt irises tired and blank.

_He isn't coming today, is he?_

A public park, thick with pines, lined the far side of Tokyo Prime Elementary school. Although not dense enough to be called a true forest, there were a few yards of trees rooted close to one another. Occasionally he paused in his brooding to look up towards these trees, a small fire of hope in his gaze.

"Sasuke-kun!" A voice called from the doorway of the main building. Sasuke twisted his head around, cheeks burning red from icebite. A small girl with bubblegum pink hair was peeking out from the double-doors, staring at him with wide, green eyes.

"Come inside! It's cold!" She rubbed at her arms dramatically. "Sensei said she was coming back with cocoa!"

He wasn't really thirsty, but he was cold.

_How long had he been waiting?_

Sasuke looked back ahead at the patch of trees forlornly.

_Naruto had promised, hadn't he?_

Slowly, the child slid from his swing. It was a slow trudge back to the school buildings. Each step sent him sagging into several inches of snow (a few weeks ago it'd been _**feet**_ of snow), but he moved steadily, at times slowing just to take a peek behind him. Each time he did, more despair wallowed itself deep inside of him: there was no one coming for him. Naruto wasn't coming, even if he had promised.

Swells of burning wetness unfurled in the backs of his eyes. Sakura held the door open for him as soon as he was within reach. When the door shut, he chanced one last time to peek through the window to see - just one last time.

There, against the outline of dipping pine boughs and snow, was a figure dressed in orange and black. A splash of blond hair stood out in contrast, as brilliant and sunny as it'd been the last time he'd seen Naruto - _a week ago_. Sasuke started to turn, his chest and tummy blossoming in butterflies (_he found he only really felt safe and happy around his guardian angel_), when his teacher, Ms. Monoki appeared.

"Sasuke-chan, recess is over! You gotta stay inside now. Come join the rest of class, ne?"

"Yes Sasuke-kun, come sit by me!" The pink-haired girl crowed, blushing furiously once she realized she had actually said such aloud.

"Nnnnoooo, he'd much rather sit by me right? Wouldn't you Sasuke-kun?" A blonde-haired girl whined.

Sasuke bit the inside of his cheek hard to keep from bursting into more childish tears as he was led away. He stared back at Naruto's solitary figure as long as he could before they rounded the corner, heading back to their classroom.

_If only he'd waited, just a minute longer._

* * *

_July 27th, 2000_

"Sasuke, you'll have to entertain yourself while I'm out. I have an early prep class I'm taking..." Itachi, though having only recently turned twelve, spoke as if he were an adult. He dressed like one, talked like one, and kept himself more busy than _most_ adults did. Even Sasuke understood why his parents had so dotefully revered him: he was a prodigy.

And he was graduating from high school next month, pending the finals he was studying for come August. But Sasuke, like everyone else that knew Itachi, didn't really see it as a possibility that he wouldn't pass every single one of them with a solid one-hundred percent on every test. Itachi was on course to becoming a great man, they said. Itachi was going to surpass their father some day, they claimed.

_Whatever that meant._

"Okay."

"Jou-san said he'd have dinner ready at six o'clock."

"Alright."

"You will stay out of trouble, won't you? Don't leave the house."

"I won't - oh," Sasuke paused, dark brows drawing close inquisitively. He looked up at his older brother, who had the decency to stare back at him patiently.

"Oh?" He mimicked.

"Can I go in the backyard?"

Itachi regarded him carefully, before shaking his head. "No, I'd rather you not."

_Ever since the massacre, Itachi-nii never let him leave the house unless he or Jou-san was with him._

Sasuke merely gave a curt nod, watching as his brother left the house and descended down stone steps. A flashy mercedes was waiting for him. By the time Itachi reached the car, he had a cell phone pressed to his ear and was speaking heatedly, though to whom he knew not. Once the car disappeared around the bend of their private property Sasuke turned, rushing towards the kitchen.

Jou-san, their butler-turned-caregiver (until Itachi turned eighteen he'd have full guardianship over them. Thankfully they hadn't been placed into foster care, which he would later discover was merely because Itachi had bribed their caseworker into letting their trusted family servant gain guardianship of them), was in the kitchen cooking. He'd only just begun to dice the vegetables, so Sasuke knew he'd be in there for some time.

The child rounded for the staircases, taking the right archway that would lead to his bedroom. He was in too much of a hurry to appreciate the grandeuir of their home; there was only one thing that made him happy these days, and that was... was...

Sasuke's heart hammered in his ears as his feet pounded down the wooden hall. His door was slightly open, so when he reached it he burst it open, dark eyes scanning his enormous bedroom.

Navy-blue walls stretched both in length and height. It was dimly lit, though the afternoon was quickly bleeding into the evening. A large canopy bed, laced with white sheets and a contrasting black comforter covered the entirety of it. Toys gallore - anything that a child could wish for - were neatly stacked and placed throughout the room, the sheer number of which was only outdone by the books that lined the walls.

_Despite his mother's insistancy of him having a childhood, Fugaku, his father, had desired a more intellectual upbringing._

And there, sitting on the windowsill of one of his many magnificent archway windows was Naruto. The man was dressed in blue jeans and an orange pullover. Orange shades hid his eyes, but Sasuke didn't need to see them to know it was him.

"Ne ne? I'm here, like promised." Naruto grinned at him.

Sasuke smiled. He ran as quickly as his six year old body could, and threw himself into the blond's arms. Naruto laughed, playfully patting his head.

"Did you miss me?" Sasuke asked (or rather demanded), first. "Itachi-nii just finally left, and Jou-san is downstairs making dinner." The child explained, as if Naruto hadn't been watching or hadn't heard the conversation as it'd taken place.

"I did miss you." The blond had never been particularly comfortable around children, but things had changed since he'd met Sasuke.

_A lot had._

Several minutes later Naruto found himself flat on Sasuke's bed, the child across from him. Between them a militia of green army men stood on a flatboard. They were playing War again, one of Sasuke's current, favorite games. Although many had offered to play with him, Sasuke never did - he never played with anyone, always keeping to himself and his studies, saving his playtime for when Naruto showed up again.

_Sometimes it was only a day or two between their meetings._

_Mostly it was weeks._

_Other times, it was months. _

During those times Sasuke holed himself up, as if by Naruto's withdrawal from his life, no matter how temporary, he took with him his warmth and livelihood. He retracted into his shell, all that was left of his former self after the Grand Central Hotel. During those down times he poured himself into his books and studies, preferring hard focus of factual knowledge to the childish interaction he endured at school.

"What's Jou-san making for dinner?" Naruto asked after a minute, wriggling his brows together as he glanced over the battlefield towards his 'opponent'. He silently debated if he'd let Sasuke win this one or not, trying to remember who had won last time they'd played.

"Onigiri, some kind of miso soup... Sushi rolls too, maybe." Sasuke idly chewed on his thumb, doing what Naruto was at the moment: scoping the field for his next move. _Maybe his tank? Or one of his rifleman? _

"Ma ma, that sounds good." Naruto pouted, reaching up to scratch the back of his head.

Sasuke looked up at him then, dark eyes wide and childishly hopeful. "You could stay for dinner?"

He immediately regretted suggesting such as _the look _overcame Naruto. It was subtle, but unlike most children his age, Sasuke was keen-minded. He saw the shadowing of the blond's baby-blues, how his brows flattened and his smile dimmed. Of all the things that Naruto had stressed, it was -

"Sasuke-chan," Naruto's eyes flicked up to meet his. His voice was soft and serious. "You know I can't do that. Just like you can't talk to anyone about me, ne? You haven't, had you?"

The child shook his head quickly, staring down at his army men, embarassed and ashamed. "No I haven't."

"You promised you wouldn't. You know that other people wouldn't understand."

"About the monster?" Sasuke asked, voice a mere whisper.

Naruto's fingers tightened around the plastic green tank he was holding. After a moment he released the toy and rolled over onto his back, sitting up. Sasuke continued staring at the tiny green men, fumbling with piece after piece as silence settled between them. It was uncomfortable, not just the silence, but _everything_.

"Especially about the monster. Do you remember why?"

Sasuke frowned gravelly. "Because nobody believed me, and they'll think I'm crazy if I talk about it, right?"

It hurt Naruto to hear these words coming from him, even if they were the truth. It hurt him, the lies that he kept telling his friends, his pack, his family on a _daily_ basis - the lies he said to Sasuke, too, but they couldn't be helped. He reached out towards Sasuke as he dropped the green soldiers and tanks. The child didn't protest as he pulled him into his lap, where Sasuke settled, head resting against the blond's shoulder.

"You remember why you can't talk about me either right? Why this all has to be secret?" Naruto breathed in and out deeply, reaching up to gently stroke Sasuke's dark, silky hair. The child nuzzled further into his shoulder, eyes shutting as he listened to the heady beat of Naruto's - his angel's - strong heartbeat.

"Because you're my guardian angel, and angels aren't supposed to keep showing themselves to the human they saved after the first time..." Sasuke repeated what Naruto had told him multiple times, whenever conversations such as _these_ came up. "If I actually told anyone about you would you disappear like you said?" His voice raised several octaves, a real fear (a type of fear he hadn't experienced since the massacre) sending a tremble through him.

"I would, sort of," Naruto explained, lightly squeezing his sides. "You wouldn't get to see me anymore, but I'd be there, ne? If any of the other angels found out I kept seeing you because I thought you were so special, I'd be in big trouble with them too."

"So you have to be quiet too then?" Sasuke leaned back, head tilting up to peer into the older male's face. Naruto reached up and removed his sunglasses and set them on the nightstand, chuckling softly. Afterwards he leaned back, resting his back against the headboard.

"It's a secret we have to keep just between us, okay?" As Naruto spoke he tilted his head back, eyes lidding as he relaxed. Sasuke smiled at him, the expression reaching his dark eyes, which seemed to have lightened considerably as the awkward tension wavered.

"I won't tell anyone, ever." He nodded.

* * *

Itachi made rounds at night before he went to sleep. The Uchiha manor was quite large, and despite the fact that there was always a platoon of policemen and guards stationed throughout the property (and also along the actual home), he was never at ease.

He slid the door to Sasuke's room open and stepped inside, scanning the room silently. Frowning when he noticed the curtains weren't drawn, he stepped inside quietly and headed over, shutting them tightly. Just as he was about to leave Sasuke rolled over in his sleep, mumbling softly to himself. Half of his blankets had been thrown as he'd slept, and he was patting and reaching for them subconsciously, much to Itachi's amusement.

Stifling a chuckle the elder Uchiha rounded the side of the bed, reaching down to pick up the tossed blankets. He pulled them over his little brother's small frame, who immediately stopped moving about and burrowed himself into them. As Itachi turned to leave, again, he caught sight of something in the corners of his eyes.

On the nightstand, a pair of sunglasses - orange sunglasses - laid. They were too large for a child.

_Adult sunglasses?_

Itachi picked them up before resuming his leave, staring down at them intensely, as if trying to determine the best coarse of action to solve a particularly difficult rubix cube hash-up.

They were not Jou-san's, he was sure of that. None of the guards were allowed inside of the manor itself, and Itachi had refused any and all visitors since their return home.

_Which meant..._

He came to a halt, a mere shadow of a silhouette in the bedroom's doorway. Itachi glanced back over his shoulder at Sasuke, who had rolled onto his back and was sleeping contentedly once more. A small smile was on the child's face, and if Itachi had lingered a little longer, he would've heard the soft _Naruto_ uttered while he dreamed.

* * *

End Chapter 2. Chapter 3 coming soon!

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto. He belongs to Kishimoto... you know the program by now.

**A/N:** Sorry if this seems slow-moving. It'll pick up soon! There will be a bit more time-bouncing next chapter (trying to rush things a bit so Sasuke's a wee older). Also, I know this will cause some confusion, but Naruto is not an angel. He simply went with such because that's what Sasuke associated him with.

R & R!


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